1992-24793-Minutes for Meeting July 15,1992 Recorded 7/23/199292-24'793
0118-133'7
PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES
REALIGNMENT OF BROOKSWOOD BOULEVARD92 (+ 23 AM ;
43
DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
July 15, 1992 i'7 %': ' d HOLL'``'
Chairman Maudlin called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. Board
members in attendance were: Dick Maudlin, Tom Throop and Nancy
Pope Schlangen. Also present were: Paul Blikstad, Planner and
Bruce White, Assistant County Counsel.
Before the Board was a public hearing on the Bend-LaPine School
District No. 1's request for a Plan Amendment to move the location
of Brookswood Boulevard on the Bend/Deschutes County Transportation
Plan Map.
Chairman Maudlin opened the public hearing and asked for a staff
report.
Paul Blikstad said Brookswood Boulevard was a designated arterial
which was established on the Transportation Plan Map as a north -
south alternative to Highway 97 for the Bend area approximately 13
years ago. A hearing on this alignment amendment was held in
conjunction with the School District Application for a conditional
use and site plan for the new elementary school to be located west
of the Homestead and Romaine Village subdivisions and a major land
partition to divide a 15 -acre school site from the remainder of the
Thompson family property. The Hearings Officer approved the
partition for the property and the conditional use and site plan
for the school. The Hearings Officer also recommended approval of
the plan amendment for the Brookswood realignment in his May 21,
1992, Findings and Decision. Part of the Hearings Officer's
findings included language from the Bend Area General Plan which
stated that the alignment of Brookswood Avenue would extend from
Wilson Avenue south to Baker Road and parallel to Highway 97. It
would pass through an undeveloped section which was partially
identified as open space (Thompson property). The alignment
through this area was intended to be flexible to accommodate the
protection of open space, while providing for the street. The
County Public Works Department had submitted a memorandum stating
their support for the proposed change for the following reasons:
(1) the route avoided cutting through the middle of the 242 acre
Thompson property; (2) the relocated road would provide a direct
access and road frontage to the entire western edge of the 15 -acre
elementary school site; (3) the proposed route would require only
a very short extension of Poplar Street to connect with Brookswood
to the subdivisions to the east (Homestead and Romaine Village);
(4) the proposed route would make use of the existing right of way
of Rancho Road for part of its distance thereby reducing the amount
of right of way needing to be purchase compared to the route
PAGE 1 MINUTES: 7-15-92
U
1 '
0.18-1338
currently shown on the Transportation Plan; and (5) the proposed
route would not require the removal of any dwelling units as could
be determined from air photos, while the route in the plan would
require removal of one or possibly two existing dwellings units.
Therefore, it was Planning Staff's position as well as the County
Public Works Department's position that this plan amendment should
be approved to move the alignment. Mr. Blikstad indicated on a map
the location of the elementary school and how the parcel was split.
Chairman Maudlin asked for testimony from those people in favor of
the realignment.
Bob Lovlien testified that he represented
series of land use applications relative
schools throughout the Bend district. The
school site would be on a 15 -acre site v
school district by the Thompson family.
from a much larger parcel which was is
special interest in the Bend Area General:
a very large open meadow which was use,
conditional use and site plan approva.
regarding the improvements which the sc
required to make on Brookswood, and tl
Amethyst, etc. They had worked with the r
number of issues. The issue before the Bc
the School District on a
to the siting of several
new southwest elementary
hich was donated to the
This 15 acres was split
entified as an area of
Ilan because it contained
I by an elk herd. The
.s contained conditions
hool district would be
e extension of Poplar,
eighborhood to resolve a
and this evening was the
relocation of Brookswood. He said that Brookswood had been shown
on the Bend Area Transportation Plan since at least 1980. The Bend
Area General Plan identified this route as a "flexible location"
with no specific reasons for siting the road in one location versus
another, and no engineering or siting studies had ever been done on
where this road should be located. He felt someone had just taken
a felt marker and drawn a straight line down into the Deschutes
River Woods area when the plan was originally done. The school
district hired Hickman Williams and Company to make sure that the
proposed relocation was a feasible relocation, and Public Works
agreed that it was. The realignment would move the road out of the
middle of the Thompson's meadow rather than bisect it. This
realignment accommodated the topography and geography of the area.
They concurred with the reasons set forth by Dick Johnson, County
Public Works, in his memorandum.
Chairman Maudlin asked if the School District had agreed to pay or
do anything for the donated 15 -acre piece of property. Mr. Lovlien
said they had agreed to pay approximately $5,000 to defray legal
fees for this property. Chairman Maudlin asked if this alignment
were approved, when would the road be built and who would build it?
Mr. Lovlien said the school district would build Brookswood from
Poplar Avenue north to the edge of their property as soon as it was
approved. When the remainder of Brookswood Boulevard would be
built would depend on: (1) whether the Thompsons decided to
develop their property and he wasn't aware that they had any
development plans; and (2) the Brookswood corridor north would
PAGE 2 MINUTES: 7-15-92
0.18-1339
depend on whether the County had money to fund it or whether there
was development along it which would pay for it. He suggested that
nothing might happen on this road for 10 years except for the
school district portion. The access to the school would be on
Poplar and Amethyst. The children from the Deschutes River Woods
subdivision would still be bused to the site using Highway 97 and
Poplar. Chairman Maudlin asked if it wouldn't be cheaper for the
school district to build the entire road rather than purchasing
four new busses. Mr. Lovlien said they were already bussing these
children so they would not have to purchase any more busses. He
said Lodgepole was being extended to where Brookswood ended now,
and there would be an additional north/south access at that point
which would serve the neighborhoods without the urban growth
boundary.
Tim Breeden 19208 Shoshoni Rd, Deschutes River Woods (DRW),
testified as a representative the Deschutes River Woods Homeowners
Association. He asked that the members in support of this proposal
raise their hands. A majority of the people in attendance raised
their hands. He said Brookswood Boulevard was of crucial interest
to the residents of Deschutes River Woods since it would provide
them with a secondary fire escape route. During the Awbrey Hall
fire, traffic was backed up approximately 2 miles while trying to
get out onto Highway 97. The flames came to within 1/8 mile of
Baker Road where they were waiting. This subdivision should never
have been platted without a secondary access, however they wanted
to stay. This road would also allow from another escape route if
there was a toxic spill on the railroad grade. They felt the route
chosen for the realignment of Brookswood Boulevard seemed to go
through fewer homesites than the original route. Chairman Maudlin
asked if they would be in favor even if the original alignment were
used. Mr. Breeden said there were a number of residents in DRW who
preferred that the road go along the existing rights of way.
Ober Hall, 18970 Obsidian Road, testified that he was one of the
two vice presidents of the homeowners association. They were very
much in favor of a second exit for DRW for another reason: if
Brookswood Blvd. was completed, the school buses wouldn't have to
go onto Highway 97. This was a safety and cost issue. He
estimated there were over 4,500 people who lived in DRW, and they
needed another exit. They had no police protection other than the
County, so they had formed a neighborhood watch program.
Rod Cathcart, 19822 Ponderosa St., Homestead Subdivision, testified
in favor of the school and the road construction project. He said
they had been meeting with the School District which had been very
helpful with their community concerns.
Betty Marquette, PO Box 1138, Sisters, testified that she owned lot
85C, and she was concerned about the traffic. She wondered if the
County could pave Buck Canyon Road. There was currently a red
cinder road which she helped pay for. Chairman Maudlin said the
PAGE 3 MINUTES: 7-15-92
0118-1040
Board would be happy to consider a local improvement district for
this area. Commissioner Throop said the County's resources were
limited so the County was only funding major arterials. New
collectors and local roads were the responsibility of the abutting
property owners. Ms. Marquette said she felt the County had picked
the best route.
John Jackson, 59859 Navajo, DRW, testified recently there was a
major accident at Baker Street and Highway 97 at about 5 p.m. The
traffic back up all the way to Murphy Road to the north and to the
south "it was quite a ways back toward Lava Butte." The emergency
service vehicles could not get through the traffic to reach the
accident. If there was another route, 1/3 to 1/2 of this traffic
would have gone another way. Commissioner Throop said he had met
John Jackson at a couple of recent DRW Homeowners Association
meetings and asked Mr. Jackson to introduce himself to the rest of
the Board. Mr. Jackson said he was the neighborhood watch for DRW.
They started the program about 4 months ago and during that time
there was a drastic change in the crime in the area. The fire
department told him that over the 4th of July, they received 150
fewer calls from DRW than normal. He worked closely with the
Sheriff's Department which he felt reduced the crime in the area.
Louisea Hall, treasurer for the DRW homeowners Assn., testified
that John Jackson monitored 9-1-1 calls and had already saved one
person's life.
Merle Hammerly, 60306 Tumalo Circle, DRW, complained that the
facility for this hearing did not have a public address system. He
said a number of people in the back of the room could not hear what
was being said. Chairman Maudlin said he would ask everyone to
speak up. Mr. Hammerly also felt the people who were testifying
should face the public, not the Commissioners. Commissioner Throop
pointed out that the purpose of this meeting was for the public to
come and talk with the Board of Commissioners, not to the people in
the audience.
Peggy Cannon, 59956 Navajo Road, DRW, testified that she
appreciated the number of times Commissioner Throop had come to
their homeowners meetings. Many of the people in the area were
retired, and the recent fire made them realize how vulnerable they
were. She also complained about the lack of a PA system and that
there were not enough information packets for everyone. If they
could not hear, they were unable to give rebuttal on what others
were saying. As a previous school bus driver, she saw the value of
Brookswood Blvd. for the safety of the children. She didn't care
which route was picked.
Ray L. Rogers, 19434 Piute Circle, testified that a chemical spill
on Highway 97 would cut them off, and they would be unable to leave
the area. He reiterated that they needed this road for an
alternate access.
PAGE 4 MINUTES: 7-15-92
0.18-1341
Chairman Maudlin asked if there was anyone who wished to speak in
opposition to the realignment.
William Caldwell, 60680 Rancho Road, said that he had not been
informed about the proposed change in alignment of Brookswood Blvd.
He wanted an opportunity to review the materials and suggest
another alternative to going down Rancho Road. The road
realignment would come within 50 feet of the corner of his
property. He was concerned about the traffic. Chairman Maudlin
said there had already been hearings at the Planning Commission and
before the Hearings Officer on this issue and these hearings were
advertized in the newspaper. Mr. Caldwell said no one on Rancho
Road was notified of this change. He agreed that DRW needed a
second exit, but he didn't want it to go down Rancho Road. He
didn't understand why the original alignment could not be used.
Commissioner Throop said this was the hearing at which he should
make his case for why the road should not go as proposed.
Carrie Koepke, 61445 SE 27th #135, testified that she owned 12.4
acres (lot 126 on the corner of Rancho and Buck Canyon Road) which
the proposed alignment would bisect. They were also not notified
of the change in alignment. They were working on their property on
Memorial Day weekend when a neighbor asked if they were aware of
the new road alignment. They weren't necessarily opposed to the
road but had many concerns and questions. The zoning was RR -10 and
they had been told they could not subdivide their property. If
they road went through the middle, one side of their property would
be useless. Would they be able to subdivide the property then?
Chairman Maudlin said a number of questions had been raised which
the Board would have to consider before making its decision.
Commissioner Throop suggested that the owners of the parcels being
divided by the road come in and sit down with representatives from
the County Planning staff and legal staff to find out what their
options were. Ms. Koepke said they needed to know exactly where
the road would go because they were going to start building a home
and they didn't want it condemned.
Commissioner Throop asked what the time frame was for a decision on
this application? Bruce White suggested asking the applicant if
they had some time constraints. Chairman Maudlin said the Board
would take the time to get the information necessary to make a
decision within the next week or ten days.
Lynn McKoy, 60630 Rancho Road, TL 3701, testified that the new
alignment would divide her property. She asked if the original
alignment which was approved 13 years ago, had been recorded.
Chairman Maudlin said this road alignment was "drawn in the air."
He remarked that every time the County said they were going to
build a road, the public thought it was engraved in stone when it
was an approximate line in the air. He said it would not have been
recorded and was only on the transportation master plan which was
always subject to change. Commissioner Throop said the
PAGE 5 MINUTES: 7-15-92
0118-1342
transportation plan just established a corridor, and then a
specific alignment was considered when the road was closer to being
constructed. Ms. McKoy said they moved on this property in August
of last year before they found out about the transportation plan.
She asked that the Board consider looking at other proposals for
this road. She felt it should be further west and suggested Lower
Buck Canyon Road. She thought the proposed location would still
create a bottleneck at Baker Road.
Chairman Maudlin pointed out that the only portion of the road
being built was the area along the school, and the remainder was
still subject to change. Ms. McKoy asked if she put her house up
for sale, would she have to tell potential buyers that a proposed
road might go through her property. Commissioner Throop said it
was the responsibility of buyers to look into the land use issues
on property before buying. Chairman Maudlin said she should check
with her realtor. Commissioner Throop asked where her house was on
the parcel. It appeared she would be 40 feet from the pavement.
They reviewed aerial photographs to see which dwellings might be
affected by the new alignment.
Ron Richardson, 60620 Rancho Road, Lot 3700, testified that both
road alignments would affect his property which he just purchased.
His home was approximately in the center of his lot. He wanted to
know how long they would have to wait to find out exactly where the
road would go, since they would like to rebuild on the property.
He felt the road could be placed through empty parcels of land
without affecting anyone's home. He was in favor of the road but
felt there could be a better alignment.
Chairman Maudlin asked if the Board could decide on the road
alignment for only the requested application and deal with the
remainder of the road at another time. Bruce White said he didn't
think it was necessary to approve a realignment for the school. He
felt the school district was just reacting to the transportation
element language stating that the alignment through the area was
intended to be flexible to accommodate the protection of the open
space while providing for the street. He thought they were trying
to accommodate the open space by proposing this alignment.
Bob Lovlien said part of the reason for the realignment was to deal
with the Thompson's property, however they were at this hearing
only to ask that Brookswood be sited to the Urban Growth Boundary.
They were asked to show if there was a feasible route south, not to
actually fix the route. They determined that there was a feasible
route that didn't take out any homes and utilized some right of
way. The actual route south of the UGB would have to be sited
"some other way, some other time." He said the school district was
under sever time pressures to get this school open. They felt the
road from the UGB north was set, however the road to the south had
a lot of flexibility. Hickman Williams had at least three
different alternatives which they reviewed, and John Rexford said
PAGE 6 MINUTES: 7-15-92
0118-1.343
the school district would be willing to go to the area and stake
the center line of the road as proposed to hopefully speed along
the process for the County to identify a more permanent corridor.
The alignment the school district submitted was not the only place
the road could be located.
Commissioner Throop said he didn't want to take the southern
portion of that road off the map. Also the citizens of Deschutes
River Woods were very interested in finding a permanent second
access. The County was in the process of constructing a temporary
emergency access south of Baker Road, and the contingency which
Burlington Northern agreed to was that the County site and begin
planning for development of a permanent access. The Public Works
Department had identified this road as a very high priority on
their list of transportation improvements and felt it should be
placed on the five-year Major Road Capital Improvement Program. He
suggested the County "bite the bullet" and decide where that road
should be located now. He felt that regardless of where the road
was located, some property owners would "be wiped out." However,
he felt these people would like to know as soon as possible
specifically where that corridor was going to be located.
Chairman Maudlin said he wasn't advocating not making a decision on
the entire route. He was just suggesting that the Board make a
decision for the school, and then take a longer look at the
southern alignment.
Commissioner Throop asked staff about what the proceedings were
before the Hearings Officer on this issue. Paul Blikstad said the
focus of the hearing before the Hearings Officer wasn't the
alignment of Brookswood, but the importance of having it built as
soon as possible. Chairman Maudlin asked if the people who
testified from tax lots 37 and 3701 were at the hearings before the
hearings officer. People from the crowd said no. Commissioner
Throop asked whether it would be more advisable to consider this
route in its entirety or in steps. Mr. Blikstad said the work on
this alignment was already finished. Public Works reviewed the
alternatives and made their recommendation. Somebody would be
impacted no matter which route was picked. Bruce White felt it was
best to deal with the road as a package, otherwise the alignment on
the transportation map would not connect. Paul Blikstad pointed
out that if the County wanted to change the alignment in the
future, it could hold the necessary hearings and do so.
William Caldwell asked to testify again. He asked why the
alignment was changed from the straight route. Chairman Maudlin
said it was to save the maximum amount of open space and to
separate the property so that a portion could be given to the
school district. Also the straight alignment would have required
that two homes be demolished. Mr. Caldwell said the straight
alignment looked like it went right down the property lines and
shouldn't destroy any homes. He felt the only advantage to the new
PAGE 7 MINUTES: 7-15-92
F
0118-1344
alignment was an enhancement of the Thompson property at the
expense of other properties.
Chairman Maudlin announced that this public hearing was closed for
oral testimony, however written testimony would be allowed until
July 20 at 5 p.m. The Board would make their decision at their
regular Board meeting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22, 1992. No
public comment would be taken at that time.
DATED this dam day of
Commissioners of Deschutes (
ATT T:
Recording Secretary
PAGE 8 MINUTES: 7-15-92
, 1992, by the Board of
ssioner
Nancy Pope Sc1h1an*n, Commissioner
ck audl n, airman